Schiaparelli: Surrealism for today

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Oct 4, 2020

One house gaining lots of traction is Schiaparelli, where couturier Daniel Roseberry unveiled his latest ready-to-wear ideas on Sunday in a photo shoot he shot himself.

 
Honing the house’s DNA and injecting lots of surrealist wit, Roseberry displayed lots of quirky takes on the classic Schiaparelli aesthetic, from snazzy tailoring to finger caps and mini lobster earrings, all while adding a novel dash of American sportswear.
 
For his debut shoot, Roseberry followed his own path from his apartment on Rue de Seine to Schiaparelli’s headquarters at Place Vendôme. Taking in some of his favorite Paris spots – from La Palette to Pont des Artistes and Café Voltaire on the Seine, including a charming salon with a Jean-Michel Frank mirror given as a present to Elsa.

Roseberry unveiled three fashionable threads of thought: voluminous cocktails, nipped at the waist, which the couturier smiled and called, "very Saint Laurent," and strict tailoring – like a mannish three-piece pantsuit, whose trim on one side was finished with a measuring tape, an old Schiap twist. Plus Daniel’s new American sportswear influence included fine wool sweatshirts – with an Elsa fetish, golden nipple rings – and great faded ecru jeans, with a half-dozen multiple golden back buttons.
 
Elsewhere he showered hardware over every cuff, lapel, neckline and button, cleverly imposing Schiaparelli semiotic signifiers with very few logos. Golden touches everywhere – seen on a sensationally well-cut tuxedo coat-dress worn with a giant derby hat, or on a see-through mesh top. Or with a chunky double chain necklace with a stoic goat with a mermaid’s tail pendant, worn with a femme fatale silk cocktail. While Roseberry’s golden toenail caps had diamond rings laced into them, and his finger rings were studded with mini locks.
 

"This was really just about capturing the Schiaparelli woman in her natural habitat. There were some moments in this shoot, when I really felt that I had really found her. I was really relieved. And I don’t know if I would have gotten there if I had let someone else take the photos. Finding that really modern approach to surrealism which felt fresh and very much her," explained Roseberry, who spent the lockdown in his downtown Manhattan apartment before making it back to Paris this summer.

The house also unveiled a video, a blend of making of from the shoot and Daniel sketching his ideas at the window of his truly luxurious corner office: the 18th-century north entrance to Jules Hardouin-Mansart’s beautiful Place Vendôme with a great view of Napoleon’s famous column. Watch the video and you'll agree; yes, it’s a tough job, but someone has got to do it.